Mattress for water-beds



(No Model.)

H. H. JUDSON.

MATTRESS FOR WATER BEDS.

No. 370,064. Patented Sept. 20, 1887.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HORACE H. JUDSON, OF STRATFORD, CONNECTICUT.

MATTRESS FOR WATER-BEDS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 370,064, dated'September 20, 1887.

Application filed June 17, 1887. Serial No. 241,531. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HORACE H. J UDSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Stratford, in the county of Fairfield and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mattresses for Water- Beds; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention has for its object to provide a mattress for water-beds which will lie perfectly flat in use. It has heretofore been a serious objection to water-beds-so serious, in fact, as to prevent their coming into very ex tensive use-that the patient could rarely be placed in a comfortable position, owing to the fact that the weight of the hips would press the bed down in the middle and the feet would be thrown up considerably above the body. This difficulty I wholly overcome by means of a mattress of special construction, which in use permits the patient to lie perfectly flat upon a water-bed, thus retaining all the advantages of this class of beds without the disagreeable feature ofsinking down in the middle.

This novel mattress I will now describe, referring by numbers to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in WhiCh- Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of a water bed, showing my novel mattress in the position which it assumes in use, the position of the mattress when not in use being indicated by dotted lines; and Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sec tion, on an enlarged scale, of the foot of the mattress, showing the weight-pockets made longitudinally of the mattress, the pocket or poekets'in Fig. 1 being shown as made transversely to the mattress.

1 denotes the tank of the bed, which may be of any suitable or preferred construction.

2 denotes water within the tank, and 3 the cover, ordinarily made of rubber cloth.

4 denotes the mattress, which may be made of any preferred material, ordinarily of cotton or hair. In order to insure that the mattress will lie fiat, or substantially so, when the weight of the occupant is upon it, I provide near the center of the mattress, at the portion upon which the hips of an adult would rest, an enlarged or thickened portion, 5. The position of this thickened portion in use is clearly illustrated in Fig. 1, and the position that it assumes when not in use is indicated by the dotted lines in the same figure. The exact length of the thickened portion or the additional thickness added to the mattress is not of the essence of my invention. I have found in practice that perfect results are secured by making the thickened portion at the center about double the thickness of the main portion of the mattress and gradually decreasing the thickness in both directions until the normal thickness of the mattress is reached. This thickened portion insures that the hips of the occupant shall not sink down to any appreciable extent. In order to insure that the feet of the occupant shall not be raised-- that is, that they will lie in a position horizontal with the body, or nearly soI provide a pocket or series of pockets, 6, at the foot of the mattress. These pockets may extend upward longitudinally from the foot of the mattress, as in Fig. 2, or may extend transversely from side to side, as in Fig. 1.

7 denotes weights, which may be ofany suitable or preferred size, shape, or number. In practice I have found it most convenient to use rods or bars small enough so that they can be handled with ease by any person.

Having once used the bed, it will be perfectly easy to estimate the number of weights required to place the patients feet and legs in a comfortable position, theweights required being of course dependent upon the size and weight of the person using the mattress. In use for adults I have found that weights are not ordinarily required in the mattress above the knees of the occupant, whether the pockets are made transversely or longitudinally. I therefore make them to extend from the foot of the mattress upward to a position that would be in use slightly above the knees of an adult.

Having thus described my invention, I claim-- 1. As a new manufacture,- a mattress for water-beds, having a thickened portion at or near the center thereof, as and for the purpose set forth.

2. As a new manufacture, a; mattress for water-beds,having weight-pockets at the lower end thereof, as and for the purpose set forth.

3. As a. new manufacture, a mattress for water-beds, having a thickened portion at or near the center thereof and weights at the lower end thereof, whereby in use the mattress is prevented from sinking in the middle and I0 rising up at the lower end.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in 7 presence of two witnesses.

HORACE H.

WVitnesses:

A. M.'WoosTER, O. E. RUGGLES.

JUDSON. 

